Daily SGX Report by www.epicresearch.sg 23rd August 2013

The Singapore Exchange is consulting the market on plans to slash its minimum order size for securities trading, which it says will encourage greater trading in blue chips but will not lead to a rise in high-frequency trading.
Jardine Matheson – 1H results: Hong Kong Land carries the day. A strong performance from Hong Kong Land more than offset weakness at Astra and Dairy Farm, as JM declared 1H FY13 PAT of $753m. Net profit is up 7% y/y and just under 5% ahead of estimates. The company is raising interim dividends by 6% y/y (to 37c/share), which should cheer investors.
The stock was down 2% ahead of results, and we expect a positive undertone in response
First half performance was carried by Hong Kong Land, which reported net profit of $519m ($213m attributable to JM), up 61% y/y. This more than fully offset the dip in Astra’s performance (which was expected), and Dairy Farm.
According to OCBC, domestically, SG retail sales are still tepid and uninspiring, in our view. Inflation and economic uncertainty remains the top two concerns for consumers, who have indicated in a series of surveys conducted that they intend to cut back on discretionary spending. OCBC said that on a positive note, tourist spending could help to cushion the drop-off, especially with the upcoming F1 event in Sep.

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Epic Research is a leading global financial services provider. Headquartered in Indore, India, Epic has offices and representatives in U.S.A., Singapore, Australia and Middle East. With its full fledged research operations,